Lucky Pawn
by Lynn Jones
Summary: Just some fluffy almost-Christmas-related fun. Tech Support verse.


**Okay, I know I should be working on Fractum Plumis, but this cutesy sort-of-Christmas-related oneshot was what came out. This is Tech Support-verse, and comes just before the start of System Error. Rimiko is eight years old. **

**This is for those of you who wanted more interaction between Izaya and Rimiko~**

**Disclaimer: Rimiko, Tania, Supai, and Arlua are mine, but nothing else is!**

The Winter Chess Tournament at Rimiko Heiwajima's elementary school was coming to a close. The previous champion, a sixth-year boy, stared at the board in front of him in shock.

"Noku-kun, it's your turn," his opponent prompted gently. The boy lifted his gaze to stare at his opponent. The girl was a full three years younger than him – she shouldn't even have been allowed to play, but she had challenged one of the chess club members to prove she knew what she was doing – and she was staring at him with wide caramel eyes that seemed completely innocent, as though she had no idea what she had done. The girl tilted her head, her short blond hair swaying as she smiled at her opponent. "You're going to run out of time if you don't hurry."

The boy forced his gaze to the board again, then tentatively reached out and picked up one of his few remaining pieces.

"Oooh, the poor knight," the girl murmured under her breath, quietly enough that the judge wouldn't hear. Her opponent heard though, and he shuddered, nearly dropping his piece. The last time she had said something like that… He moved the knight to a new square, capturing her pawn, and an instant later realized his mistake. Too late. He swallowed and hoped she wouldn't catch his error as he hit the button to stop his side of the timer. He only had about five minutes left on his half, while she had almost fifteen. The instant his timer stopped and hers started, the girl moved her queen up and captured the knight. The girl beamed and hit her button.

"Checkmate!" The judge announced.

The previous champion stared at the board.

How? How had this little fourth-year girl beaten him?

The girl bounced excitedly, as though she was even younger than she was.

_**Later, after the award ceremony…**_

There she was. The girl who had beaten the previous champion was waiting beside the stage for her parents to come get her. There was something in her hand.

Noku, the boy she had beaten, stomped over to her. He towered over the smaller child, glaring down at her as menacingly as he could.

"You cheated," he growled. She stared up at him, her grip on whatever she was holding tightening until her knuckles whitened.

"No I didn't!" the girl protested, clutching the item to her chest.

"You're not supposed to talk during the match!" Noku snapped.

"There's no rule against it!" she replied indignantly. The boy scowled.

"That doesn't mean you get to do it! You can't just sit there and taunt me like that!" he shouted. The girl's caramel eyes watered.

"You're just mad because you lost! It's not my fault you got overconfident!" she retorted. The boy's hand shot out and snatched the item from her hand. "Hey! Give that back!"

"You're practically a baby," he told her. "A whiny, cheating baby who doesn't know the rules." The boy uncurled his fingers and blinked at the item in his hand. It was a wooden chess piece. It was a white pawn, simply carved and slightly oversized, as if to accommodate very young fingers, but it looked expensive, made of pale wood instead of just being painted white. "Why does the cheater have a pawn?" he sneered.

"It's mine! Give it back!" the girl shouted, stomping her foot and glaring at him. Noku smirked.

"Aw, are you going to cry? I guess you really are a baby. Babies shouldn't play chess," he told her. The girl scowled and kicked the bigger child in the shin. He yelped and fell down, holding his leg. The pawn fell to the ground and rolled away across the room, under the feet of the other contestants and their parents, friends, and families. The girl bit her lip and tried to grab the pawn before it rolled away, but it was too late. The piece was gone.

"Rimi-chan, there you are!" The girl looked up. Her parents, her Uncle Supai and Aunt Rio, and her Aunt Arlua had finally arrived. The girl bit her lip harder. Earlier, she had been disappointed not to see the person who had taught her to play chess in the crowd. Now she was glad he wasn't there; she didn't want her mentor to know she had lost her good-luck charm.

"Hey, what's wrong?" her father asked, crouching down and hugging the girl gently. She threw her arms around his neck and clung to him.

"I lost my lucky pawn," she told him, her voice shaking. "I had it in my hand and Noku-kun grabbed it. Then he dropped it and now I can't find it!" Her father picked her up and stroked her hair soothingly.

"Its okay, Rimi-chan," he murmured. Meanwhile, her aunts and uncle spread out, searching for the missing chess piece. The girl's mother crouched beside Noku, who was still on the ground.

"You really are a sore loser," she informed the boy. "And you're stupid try to bully my daughter." Then she stood calmly and joined her husband in consoling their daughter.

Half an hour later, they still hadn't found the pawn.

_**That night…**_

Rimiko Heiwajma was getting ready for bed, still upset about her missing lucky pawn. The piece was her favorite, because it had been the one she used to beat her mentor for the first time. After that victory, her mentor had carved her initials into the bottom of the piece. Ever since then, whenever she played chess with a set besides her own, which she'd had for almost three years, she kept that pawn in her pocket for luck.

Now the pawn was gone.

"We'll go back to the auditorium tomorrow and see if we can find it, okay?" her mother said gently as she tucked the girl in. The girl's father came and kissed her forehead.

"Try to get some rest, okay?" he sighed. "Good night, Rimi-chan. I love you."

"Love you too, Dad," she replied quietly. As her parents exited, leaving her door open a crack, the girl rolled over onto her side, her back to the door, and tried not to cry.

_I am NOT a baby,_ she thought fiercely. _It's just a stupid pawn anyway…_

_**The next morning:**_

Rimiko woke up and rolled over, then frowned. Her pillow made a crackling sound when she moved. She sat up and moved the pillow aside. A small piece of paper had been slipped underneath while she slept.

'_Miko-chan, I'm very proud of you. I watched your victory yesterday, even though I know you didn't see me in the audience. I got you an early Christmas present to celebrate. It's in your closet.'_

Rimiko glanced toward her closet and saw another box sitting beside her chess set. She smiled; only one person ever called her Miko-chan. Then she blinked. Her chess set's box was open. She got up and padded over to the closet, then stared down into the open box.

All of the pieces were in their rightful places, even the white pawn on the far right. Tentatively, she picked up the pawn and turned it over. Carved into the pale wood were her initials.

Clutching her lucky pawn close to her heart, the girl turned her attention to the closed box. Opening it one handed, she gasped. Inside was a new chess set, the pieces normal-sized instead of the kiddie set she'd had for the last several years. Unlike the simple carving on the first set, this one had pieces carved in exquisite detail. The rooks had every brick in their wooden towers carved out. The horse heads for the knights were complete with fierce eyes and tiny, laid-back ears. Turning her attention to the kings and queens, she blinked. The white king and queen seemed familiar somehow. Instead of being carved like towers with crows, they were carved like people. Familiar people. The queen had a tiny handgun in one expertly carved hand, and the king appeared to be holding a stop sign instead of a scepter. And the black king and queen…the king seemed to be wearing a fur-trimmed jacket, while the queen simply had a cross expression on her face, and her arms were folded as if in irritation.

Rimiko laughed. She recognized the figures easily. She touched the white king and queen gently, feeling the smoothly carved wood beneath her fingertips.

"Dad and Mom," she murmured. Then she studied the black king and queen once more. "And Auntie Arlua and Uncle Iza," she added, grinning.

_**Meanwhile, across town…**_

Arlua shook her head at Izaya, who looked like he hadn't slept at all the night before.

"You're a big softie," she informed her exhausted boyfriend. "How long did it take you to find that pawn?" Izaya glared at her and tried to slip past her to their bedroom to escape, but she followed him. "And you gave her the Christmas present you got for her early didn't you?" she added with a grin. "You spoil her, and you know it."

"Just don't tell the monsters," Izaya grumbled as he flopped onto their bed, fully clothed. Arlua snickered.

"Of course, Izzy," she agreed easily. "But I'm pretty sure they've figured it out by now."

"How? That protozoan and his trigger-happy wife couldn't figure out –"

"Well, since you and I are the ones who play chess, and she stopped complaining when they told her you'd be here when I babysit, and she gets an anonymous but rather expensive gift for Christmas and her birthday every year, and they magically appear in their apartment after you and I visit, and I talk to them the whole time we're there, and –"

"Okay okay!" he groaned. "You win. I'm sure they know it's me. Can I sleep now?"

"As long as you admit that you spoil that girl and you actually care about her," Arlua replied cheerfully. Her boyfriend sighed heavily and pulled a pillow over his head.

"There's no way I'll admit that," he muttered.


End file.
